D 640 
.P39 
Copy 1 



XL FOR 
FRANCE 



EXTRACTS FROM THE LETTERS 
OFA FRENCH ARTILLERY OFFICER 





Book -^o9 



CopightH". 



CSSUBSaWI DEPOSIC 



ALL FOR FRANCE 




WOUNDED SHARPSHOOTERS 



ALL FOR FRANCE 



Extracts from the Letters of 
a French Artillery Officer 



PUBLISHED FOR THE EDITOR 



STURGIS & WALTON 

COMPANY 

1916 



>439 



COPYEIGHT, 1916 

By STURGIS & WALTON COMPANY 
Set up and electrotyped. Published, November, 191( 




DEC 30 1916 

^CI.A453355 

1^ /- 



IN EXPLANATIOlSr 

Early in the Fall of 1913 I met by 
chance a very interesting French gen- 
tleman, a mining engineer by profes- 
sion, and a reserve Artillery Officer. 

Our acquaintance grew into a 
friendship that I valued highly and 
then I lost sight of him until late in 
November, 1914, when I learned that 
he had answered the call to the colors, 
and had been wounded at the Battle 
of the Marne. He recovered and 
took part in the continuous fighting 
on the West Front. 

From time to time he wrote me, 
and for a while sent me photographs 
taken on the Battle Line. 

Then came a long silence ; then the 



dreaded black bordered letter from 
his widow, telling of "the glorious 
death of my beloved husband" and 
how "at the battle of Bois Bourrus a 
bursting shell caused a wound that 
cost him his life and put his splendid 
work to a sudden end." 

It seems that on the evening of the 
ninth of April, 1916, in the presence 
of his regiment, he was named as 
Chevalier of the Legion of Honor 
and presented with the War Cross. 
On the following day, during a ter- 
rific bombardment near Verdun, he 
was mortally wounded and died on 
the Field of Battle. 

His widow and two children are 
uncomplainingly facing the future, 
with only the memory of his bravery 
to help. They are penniless, yet ask 
for nothing, but as his friend I feel 
it my duty to try and assist them. 



I have therefore taken it upon my- 
self to publish the following extracts 
from his letters, together with a few 
reproductions of the photographs, 
without asking leave, but with the 
thought that if his name was not men- 
tioned, no one could object, and that 
by the sale of this little volume I 
might aid his loved ones. 

To those who purchase a copy I 
can only say that within its pages 
I believe they will see the Spirit of 
France, the France that is battling 
for us and for Civilization, and I 
know they will help the family of one 
who has made the Supreme Sacrifice. 

W. B. M 

Summit, N. J., 
October 31st, 1916. 



ALL FOR FRANCE 



ALL FOR FRANCE 

November 17, 1914 

My dear Friend : 

I have been fighting like hell since 
August, and have been badly 
wounded with two shots through the 
leg and chest, am recovering and hope 
to leave again for the front within 
two weeks. The present war is the 
hugest slaughtering of human lives 
you could ever dream about. Simply 
horrid. 

I expect to leave for New York 
with wife and children after the war 
and have a new start then, as my busi- 
ness like others has been dropped to 
the dogs. 

Hope to hear soon of you, 

Yours as ever, 
9 C 



II 



28 April, 1915 

My dear M : 

You ask me so insistently to give 
you my impressions upon the war that 
we wage at the present time against 
Germany, that I have decided at last 
to comply with your wish. I shall 
do my best to set aside all passion, 
and shall try to tell you simply of the 
events to which I have attended since 
the beginning of our mobilization, in 
short, my journal of impressions, and 
of hours powerfully lived. You have 
had in the United States every possi- 
ble particular concerning the actual 
war, in the form of official statements 
or accounts of war correspondents. 
I am not in a position to give you any 
official information, and could I do so, 
my duty as officer would forbid it; 

13 



but, as I told you, you shall have my 
store of hours powerfully lived; and 
the whole will give you an exact idea 
of the terrible effort which France 
has given and gives yet to drive back 
the Invader and Uberate its Northern 
Territory. 

As you know, after a year of heavy 
mining prospecting work in Venezu- 
ela in the Orinoco River basin, — I 
came back to New York and went 
from there to Canada. I sailed for 
France in June, 1914, to get a couple 
of months' rest with my wife and chil- 
dren before starting again on my 
wandering hfe of mining engineer. 
I found my lovely Paris just as ele- 
gant and careless as ever, a thousand 
miles from suspecting the dreadful 
events that were brewing. Every- 
body was living in a dream of peace, 

14 



The first serious incident that seemed 
to shake the sleep of public opinion 
was the " ultimatum " of Austria to 
Servia; suddenly Paris became anx- 
ious and without yet believing that 
Germany would interfere, every one 
started to hunt for ready cash, in spite 
of a heavy fall on the Stock Ex- 
change ; optimistic Government state- 
ments were published and the popula- 
tion became quieter; general opinion 
at that time was that everything 
would be all right within a short time, 
the Diplomatic tension was nothing 
else than a German Bluff similar to 
the one we had at Agadir and on sev- 
eral other occasions. The days of the 
thirtieth and thirty-first of July 
passed with the same state of mind, 
everybody was talking of a possible 
partial mobilization, but in a low 

15 



Voice, feeling that it was a matter of 
small importance, and only intended 
to counterbalance the military prep- 
arations in Germany, which of course 
were generally denied. In short, 
public apprehension had subsided and 
we were waiting patiently for an ami- 
cable Diplomatic solution. 

On the morning of the first of Au- 
gust the newspapers, carefully cen- 
sored, seemed to foretell a very near 
issue to the crisis. To give you an 
idea of the blindness in which we were 
living, let me tell you that on the 
twentieth of July, I refused to sell an 
important block of shares I owned in 
the Belgium Iron Works, in spite of 
a very advantageous offer; and the 
result has been for me a net consider- 
able loss, for the works have been en- 
tirely destroyed by the Germans. 

16 



Should I live a hundred years, I 
would still keep in mind the afternoon 
of the first of August when the mobil- 
ization placards were posted. On 
that afternoon, I was busy with our 
Manager and my assistant discussing 
the drawings for a new dredge which 
we expected to build and ship to 
South America for gold washing, 
when suddenly about 3.30 P. m. the 
porter of the works rushed into the 
drawing room, like a hurricane, 
shouting and yelling, " The mobiliza- 
tion order has been posted; the war! 
the war! " At first we didn't under- 
stand what the man was talking 
about, and were staring at him stu- 
pidly. "The war! What do you 
mean by the war! You must be 
crazy!" But the porter, cooling 
down, started again. " Excuse me, 
17 



gentlemen, the general mobilization 
order has been posted, I saw it my- 
self, and, believe me, I am quite so- 
ber. That means the war with Ger- 
many!" 

We jumped up — all three to- 
gether — and for over a minute were 
unable to utter a single word, and it 
was between us a tragic and poignant 
silence. Then the Manager picked 
up the drawings scattered on the table 
and told me simply, with a sob in his 
voice: " Mr. C, you are an artillery 
officer; you can't lose a minute. 
I'll lend you my motor car which is 
waiting for me at the door, for I 
guess you will have to get ready and 
leave to join your Regiment at once. 
Good luck to you ! " And I left after 
a silent shake of the hand. I drove 
to Paris. I have to confess that the 

18 



sensation which arose in me, once the 
first shock of the news had passed, 
was a terrible rage against Destiny. 
I had been abroad for eighteen 
months. I had been near death with 
a pernicious fever in Venezuela ; I re- 
turned to France to take a rest and 
had sent my wife and children to 
Biarritz, and I now had to join my 
regiment in South France, leaving all 
my business on the spot, with neither 
time nor authorisation to see my loved 
ones. I was simply exasperated. 
We drove with the motor car through 
the suburbs of Paris at frightful rap- 
idity, and I keep of this debauch of 
speed a vision of poignant gloomi- 
ness. Everywhere women crying, 
the men serious and pale; some of 
them had already their packet on the 
shoulder and were proceeding to the 

19 



nearest railway station; not a single 
sound arose from the crowd. The 
people had already realised the terri- 
ble fight we would have to sustain. 
I reach the gates of the " Bois de 
Boulogne" — the crowd gets denser 
and denser. I have to stop for the 
town duties. A woman speaks to 
me: " I am from Alsace, sir; I saw 
the war in 1870; I have only one son 
left, and he is sick in bed. My God ! 
I would give away anything I have 
got left to see him in good condition, 
and in shape to help his country." 
Poor, dear old woman, her son may 
be now like so many others lying 
somewhere in Alsace, Champagne, or 
in the Flanders. I arrive at my 
mother's house and find there the 
most extraordinary hubbub. My 
five brothers are already packing in a 

20 



hurry, yelling and shouting and sing- 
ing, my anger is over like a shot ; and 
suddenty an immense explosion of joy 
bursts out while we start dancing an 
unbridled cake-walk. I catch a large 
jug, fill it with all kinds of liqueurs 
and champagne; the mixture is at 
once called the *' Revanche Cock- 
tail," and we all of us touch glasses, 
singing the " Marseillaise " and the 
" Song of Departure." Being the 
eldest son (I am 39 years old), I be- 
gin speaking and recommend to my 
brothers to do more than their duty, 
and after a last embrace we separate, 
making of course a general appoint- 
ment at " Berlin." 

The approaches of the railway sta- 
tion are packed with a dense crowd; 
the people have cast aside anguish; 
girls and women smile through their 

21 



tears, and shoot flowers, the splendid 
French spirit ironical and jocular ap- 
pears again, not a single dissonant 
note. The civilian use of trains is in- 
terrupted during the mobilization; 
hereafter all the public services are 
under military control. I cut with 
the greatest difficulty a passage 
through the crowd; a girl takes me 
for an "Englishman" with my 
shaved " moustache " and laughingly 
asks me what England intends to do. 
The question arouses interest; every- 
body surrounds me awaiting my an- 
swer. I told her that I was simply 
an artillery officer leaving Paris to 
join his regiment, and immediately a 
cheering burst forth — " Hurrah for 
the artillery, hurrah for our 75 gun." 
The girl asks me to send her a Ger- 
man helmet, gives me by force her 

22 



address and I have to accept a Holy 
Medal that she wore around her neck, 
I promise her all she wants and I am 
lucky enough to escape. 

The mobihzation train is ready, 
without any distinction of class. The 
compartments are taken by assault 
and packed with twice as many sol- 
diers as they were intended for. A 
whistle, and we leave at very low 
speed, as the trains run one after 
other without interruption. For 
twenty- four hours I travel through a 
part of France, which I shall cross 
again in six days to join my com- 
rades at the front. During these 
twenty-four hours we see going north 
a single ribbon of trains speeding at 
the same rate of fourteen miles an 
hour. The human tide slides up to 
the frontier in the fever of the glori- 

23 



ous end of the day. The heat is ter- 
rible. 

Yours, 

C 



24? 



Ill 



May 4, 1915. 

My dear M : 

I left Paris the first of August, 
1914, on the first day of mobilization, 
at 7 P. M., to join my Regiment. By 
this glorious end of day we were fif- 
teen packed in a firstclass compart- 
ment. All kinds of officers ; artillery, 
cavalry, infantry. With my thirty- 
nine years, I was far the older. From 
the start the conversation became gen- 
eral, we were all of the same grade, 
except a cavalry captain, back from 
England, who had a call the day be- 
fore the mobilization to join his regi- 
ment at once. The same enthusiasm, 
the same faith in the victory united 
all of us in an immovable confidence. 
At least we were going to have a de- 
cent fight. 

27 



We discussed the conditions by 
which the first shock should occur; 
the French town of Nancy ought to 
be at the present time besieged. We 
were all of course persuaded that the 
German plan consisted in a dense and 
formidable rush on that important 
city, only a few kilometres distant 
from the German frontier. 

How far we were from the reality ! 

If one had foretold us the invasion 
of Belgium and the violation of its 
neutrality, we should have called him 
a madman and a visionary. In our 
mind Belgium was absolutely safe, 
having its neutrality solemnly pro- 
claimed by all the Powers. Our gen- 
eral opinion was that a gigantic battle 
would break out somewhere in Cham- 
pagne to decide the fate of both 
countries, a battle that might last for 

28 



several days until the annihilation of 
one of the adversaries. In short, we 
were all persuaded that the war, be- 
cause of the power of the destructive 
engines employed, could only last 
three months, or a maximum of four. 
We were speeding at a slow and 
monotonous rate, every ten minutes 
we passed a train packed with soldiers 
cheering and singing. The stations 
were crowded with people; women, 
children, old men, they all came to 
cheer the passing of the Defenders 
of our National soil; and they all 
fought to present us flowers, wine and 
provisions. Every start from the 
station was the prelude of an in- 
describable enthusiasm. And the 
journey went on for twenty-four 
hours, most of my travelling com- 
panions had left me, others had re- 

29 



placed them, we were always packed. 
I arrived at the town of , head- 
quarters of my Regiment, something 
about 7 P. M. I jumped from the 
train, called for a Porter and pro- 
ceeded at once to the barracks. I 
have to say that from that time starts 
my *' Campaign Journal," upon 
which I have faithfully laid down 
each one of the hours hved since the 
second of August, 1914, with simple 
notes written hastily ; I have tied my- 
self down to keep a daily record in 
spite of the fatigue, and it is a joy 
for me to read it again, for my " Cam- 
paign Journal " has been for me a 
faithful and devoted Friend ; the most 
intimate confidant of glorious hours 
and hours of poignant gloominess. 

I reached the Headquarters about 
7:30 P. M.^ and although it was late 
so 



I found an extraordinary bustle. 
Everybody is at work, an incessant 
work that will last four days till our 
departure for the front. I present 
myself to the Colonel, quite a young 
man, hardly fifty years old. He 
shakes hands with me, and says to 
me with a cheerful tone : " Well, you 
are a man, you didn't lose a minute to 
join us, I only expected you to-mor- 
row. Get busy at once, for we have 
to leave in four days. You are at- 
tached as Lieutenant to the Battery 
No. — and have to leave early to- 
morrow morning to preside over the 
requisition of horses. Everything 
must be ready within two days. 
Now go and present yourself to your 
Captain." 

I found the Captain and my fellow 
Lieutenant in the yard of the Head- 
si 



quarters, rapid presentation, squeez- 
ing of the hand, etc. I told him what 
the orders of the Colonel were, asked 
him to give me an " orderly," whom I 
sent to the Hotel to reserve me a 
room, and take care of my bags, sad- 
dle, etc. There is nothing else for 
me to do at the quarters, so I leave 
for the town after having ordered a 
military motorcar to be at the Hotel 
early in the morning. The town is 
crowded, the population seems to 
have tripled, everybody is out of 
doors, and the noise is deafening. 
Military wagons speed at full trot 
loaded with all kinds of goods. 
Motor cars hiss past every moment, 
couriers carrying military orders 
hurry by, an intense fever of ex- 
citement spreads over the mob. I 
dine in fine style at the Ofiicers' 

S2 



Club; I am starving, having had no 
meal since midday; I order hastily a 
light cold supper, v^hile all the offi- 
cers ask me eagerly my impressions 
about my journey and what is going 
on in Paris. I leave for the Hotel 
at 11, and find always the same 
crowd in the streets; at a crossroad a 
popular singer starts the " Marseil- 
laise," everybody takes his hat off and 
joins in the chorus of our national 
song. 

The next day, early in the morn- 
ing, after a few hours of deep rest, all 
my fatigue has gone, I find the motor 
car with a driver and two sub-officers 
in front of the Hotel. We start at 
full speed on our 100 kilometre trip 
to visit the different requisition 
centres. All the work has already 
been prepared, I have the lists in 

S3 



hand, and at 4 o'clock in the after- 
noon I have the satisfaction of having 
finished my part of the job. All the 
dependable horses necessary to com- 
plete our effectives have been exam- 
ined and are proceeding to the quar- 
ters, where they will arrive the next 
morning. I drive to the town again, 
to make my report to the Colonel. I 
am free until tomorrow morning 
where I have to come in touch with 
my '' Section," and put everything 
in order for the general review that 
takes place the day after, twenty- 
four hours before our departure. 

In the meantime, having time to 
spare before supper at the Club, I 
select my mount for the campaign. 
After rapid inspection of the non- 
affected horses, I found a chestnut 
mare, seven years old, of the " Anglo- 
s' 



Arab " type, exactly what I wanted, 
being a light weight. The mare has 
the reputation of being a little bit 
stubborn, and that decided me. I 
have been more than satisfied with 
her, and feel inclined to believe that 
the best training for stubborn horses 
is a fifteen days' campaign without 
taking the saddle off day and night. 
Nothing better to make an animal 
supple and have it afterwards as mild 
as a sheep. I try the mare for an 
hour in the riding yard. I am satis- 
fied, she is a fine jumper, and that 
may help in the future. I enter the 
Club, where we all meet for supper. 
No official news of the war. It is 
said that our first line troops have 
entered Alsace, that the Russians 
have invaded Germany with their 
" Cossacks." It is said that a French 

35 



aviator has blown up a Zeppelin, the 
most extraordinary stories are told, 
without a well-defined origin, and al- 
ways the enthusiasm grows and 
grows. At midnight I leave for the 
Hotel. 

The day after, the fourth of 
August, I walk to the quarters, early 
in the morning, and bring my " sec- 
tion " together. The men are confi- 
dent, and work with a supreme in- 
tensity, most of them are highlanders, 
small, agile and robust ; and being ac- 
customed to judge the value of a 
man at first sight, I am more than 
satisfied with them. I shall do some 
good work, everything is right. 

The next day comes general re- 
view. The Colonel goes thoroughly 
through each "section," he is satis- 
fied. Our 75 millimetre guns are 

86 



ready to go at work, their silhouettes 
stretch out, painted with a hght grey 
colour, like the neck and shoulders 
of a thoroughbred horse. Each gun 
is decorated with flowers tied to- 
gether with a tricoloured ribbon. 

The whole regiment is in line, bat- 
tery by battery, the Colonel is going 
to present the " Standard " to the 
troops. The ringing " to the stand- 
ard " resounds, a brief command to 
present arms rolls from section to 
section, and the Sacred Emblem of 
the Regiment is brought to the Front 
of the Troops, framed in its Guard of 
Honour. The sun is glorious, the 
air is blazing, and a panting breath 
of pride and passion runs over the 
Regiment ; in spite of us, a sob shakes 
and binds every one of us. 

The Colonel begins speaking and 
37 



makes a short address impressed with 
the most pure and vibrating patriot- 
ism. "My children," ends he, "re- 
member that this Standard is the 
Sacred Emblem of your Regiment, 
that has never failed to do its Duty 
for over a hundred years, since it has 
been organised; it bears in its folds 
the whole glory of our beautiful 
country of France, you must defend 
it to your last breath; I know that 
you take the most sacred oath to do 
it. My dear children, God save 
France and glory to you." We are 
moved like children and most of us 
burst into sobs. 

It is a ceremony that can't be for- 
gotten, and worth all the lives sacri- 
ficed to lead us to the victory. We 
all separate, too much oppressed with 
an imspeakable emotion to think of 

38 



anything else than our personal prep- 
arations. For we have to leave the 
next day at 6 o'clock in the morning 
for the Front. 

Yours very truly, 

C 



39 



IV 



June 11, 1915 

My dear M : 

At 3 A. M. on August sixth I arise 
and confiding the packing of my per- 
sonal baggage to my orderly tell him 
to have it at the railway station at 8. 
At my battery quarters I find every- 
thing ready. Tricolour cockades in 
the men's caps, the horses adorned 
with flowers and everything deco- 
rated as for a national feast. At 4 
o'clock sharp, with the music ahead of 
us we leave our quarters. The 
streets are crowded, and long before 
we appear we hear the cheering. In 
spite of the early hour the whole 
population is out. 

We proceed to the station and to 
the platforms prepared for embarka- 
tion, the men are grave and a little 

43 



bit nervous, for most of them are 
from the neighbourhood, and their 
wives and sweethearts are waiting to 
bid them a last fond adieu. 

We embark immediately. 

First the horses, eight to a car, then 
the guns, carts, ammunition wagons, 
etc., the wheels held tight by wedges 
nailed to the car platforms. Every- 
thing runs as smoothly as the practice 
in peace times, for the men are well 
trained. 

At six-thirty this work is finished, 
the men repair to the cars to which 
they have been assigned, and the offi- 
cers to the cars reserved for them. 
A bugle sounds and we are off amidst 
the cheers and tears of the crowd and 
the waving of the handkerchiefs. 

We are gone! For twenty- four 
hours we shall be part of that tide 

44 



of men, moving toward the Northern 
part of France, and our railroad 
journey ends with our embarkation 
a few miles south of Luneville where 
we await the other batteries of our 
regiment. 

Our journey had been made 
through suffocating heat, and was 
only remarkable for the extraordinary 
enthusiasm of the crowds packed in 
the railway stations, to watch our 
train and many others. I never had 
thought to see such a sight, I never 
had thought of a patriotism so vivid, 
so general, so splendid. 

At every step in spite of most se- 
vere orders, men, women and chil- 
dren broke down the police lines, 
stormed the cars and showered us 
with all kinds of presents, wines, pro- 
visions and flowers. 

45 



In the meantime the first real news 
of the war reaches us. The Germans 
have invaded Belgium, and England 
has declared war on Germany. We 
must be veterans already, even before 
fighting, for nothing astounds us, and 
the succession of big events has 
blunted our minds. 

It is said that our troops are in 
Alsace, and that the Russians are 
entering into East Prussia at full 
speed. Well, everything seems to be 
in fine shape, the war won't last long, 
and in a few months peace will be 
declared. 

Within an hour of our arrival we 
are disembarked, the train steams 
away and we march to our new con- 
centration camp 10 kilometres from 
the station. The roads are crowded 
with artillery and cavalry, and the in- 

46 



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fantry are marching through the 
fields. It all seems like a large 
manoeuvre on Bastile Day. Finally 
our guns are placed beneath the trees 
of a plum orchard to hide them from 
German aeroplanes and the men are 
crowded into a barn. Every one 
hunts for a place, and with my three 
brother officers I occupy a small room 
in the farm house about the size that 
would accommodate one man. No 
bed in sight, so my orderly brings in 
a few trusses of hay and my sleeping 
sack, consisting of four sheepskins, 
sewed together, the fur inside and 
lined with waterproof linen. Most 
precious invention, that I have used 
in mining camp days and that is des- 
tined to help me bear the inclemencies 
of the weather in the trenches in the 
days to come. 

47 



That night and the next day our 
other batteries arrive and are quar- 
tered in the neighbourhood. Our 
regiment is together again, but be- 
fore proceeding forward we await 
for several days until our army is 
completely mobilized. 

I took profit of the few days' rest 
I was obhged to take, to come into a 
more intimate contact with my men. 
The first thing I did was to take my 
meals with them, just as if I was an 
ordinary soldier. We talked to- 
gether on friendly terms, each one 
told me of his life, and little by little 
the family which we had to form dur- 
ing the whole campaign, spreads out 
and gets consistent. I knew that the 
only way of obtaining the best from 
the men was to learn of their life 
and have all their confidence. The 

48 



man, simple soldier, who sees his offi- 
cer sleeping on the same straw, bear- 
ing the same privations as he, devotes 
always to him an unlimited gratitude. 

This has always been one of the 
fundamental principles of my mili- 
tary life, and I always have had re- 
sults beyond my expectations. 

The 9th of August passes without 
anything special happening. We 
are advised in the evening that we 
are to leave our quarters on the 11th, 
at daybreak. On the 10th I had my 
first vision of the war. We heard 
about noon that a spy had been 
caught in the morning. The proofs 
were beyond discussion, and the ex- 
ecution had to take place in the aft- 
ernoon, in the yard of a neighbouring 
farm. Although the sight should 
not be in itself particularly attractive, 

49 



I wanted to be a spectator. I ar- 
rive about 2 o'clock ir the afternoon, 
the execution section is ready, the spy 
is brought forth, assisted by a priest. 
He is fair complexioned, the hair 
long and uncombed, and he wore a 
bristly beard, his look is repulsive; 
the eyes are rolling in all directions 
like those of a bird of prey caught in 
a trap. His hands are bound behind 
his back. He is allowed to speak for 
a few minutes to the priest, after- 
wards is placed in front of the wall 
facing the execution section. He 
seems to be resigned and I am obliged 
to recognise in him a man highly edu- 
cated; his look is now steady and he 
is facing straight ahead of him. A 
poignant silence and a pang binds the 
whole of us for a few seconds, a brief 
command, a discharge of musketry, 

50 



the man falls down, an inert body, 
the face against the earth. It's over, 
he has paid the penalty of infamy. 
May God keep his soul! 

I came back to the quarter with 

my friend, Captain X who was 

with me. The weather was glorious, 
what a contrast! We couldn't say 
a single word, each one following his 
own thoughts. We separate after a 
silent and sad hand shake. The next 
day, early in the morning we leave 
with our *' Division," the night and 
the rest have dulled the bad impres- 
sion of yesterday, the weather is still 
glorious. We have to pass through 
the Town of " Luneville " and have 
our first step out of town. " Lune- 
ville " is full of soldiers, the popula- 
tion is grave, we are far from the ex- 
uberance of the cities we had crossed 

51 



before. Two hours' rest out of town 
we leave again to arrive at night at 

the Village of X on the river 

" Vezouze." Our first stage is over, 
two days more and from what people 
tell us, we shall get into contact with 
the Germans. 

Early on the morning of the fif- 
teenth of August we received orders 
to go forward. The Germans were 
some 10 miles from us and we had 
to support our infantry. We left at 
full speed, the men were as nervous 
as blazes, the cavalry (Dragoons) 
went ahead of us to inspect the 
country. We heard rifle shooting 
but no artillery. In an hour orders 
came to place in Battery our guns 
behind a small hillock, to start at once 
the digging of rtmgh protection 
trendhfes, and to be ready for actit»i. 

52 



We took our firing position and got 
ready at once. It was about 8 a. m. 
We waited for three hours and heard 
far, far away a strong rifle firing. 
An order came to proceed again and 
take a new position two miles north- 
west ; we proceeded and the same dig- 
ging job came on. Nothing hap- 
pened. The men were laughing, 
''Is this all that war is!" We 
changed position seven times more 
up to 6 o'clock p. M. At our last 
position the men refused to dig the 
trenches and I had to admonish them 
severely, but I was myself disgusted. 
Just at the same moment an aero- 
plane came in sight and while we 
were discussing whether it was a 
French or German one, it dropped 
over our heads a fuse that gave out 
a heavy black smbke. We didn't 

53 



realise what it meant, when suddenly 
we heard in front of us a noise similar 
to a trolley running on an aerial wire, 
and at once at 300 yards in front of 
us 12 shells burst on the same hori- 
zontal line, with an ashy, grey dense 
smoke. By leaps of 50 yards with 
the same regularity they proceeded 
to our lines, 10 seconds between each 
leap. By Jove ! we had no trenches, 
we had no orders as to where the Ger- 
mans could be, very awkward posi- 
tion! The captain had left me the 
command of the Battery while 
searching for an Observatory. I 
took my decision like a shot; we had 
to take our chances between two leaps 
of 50 yards, and moreover I reahsed 
that the shells were bursting too high 
to be really dangerous, so I for- 
warded the order to lie down under 

54 



the guns, and believe me this was 
done without any discussion. The 
men were looking at me with wide 
open eyes, and I lit a cigarette to give 
them an impression of coolness, which 
I hardly felt. The squall passed 
over us, nobody was killed. A single 
man had a bullet in the shoulder and 
that was all. As we did not fire the 
leaps passed back of us. Just after 
that the telephone rang and the order 
came with " with explosive shells, at 
2500 metres open the fire," and the 
particulars for firing were given. 
The men jumped to their guns. 
2500 was the first volley, 2700 the 
second one, 2600, 2650. After 1 
minute and 10 seconds the regulating 
firing was finished and we started the 
efficiency firing at 2650 metres. The 
command was " By four, mow, 2650 " 

55 



that means 4 explosive shells to be 
fired at 2650 metres for each gun; 
*'mow" means displace the gun on 
an axle perpendicular to the trajec- 
tory, so as to give after each one of 
the four shots a displacement (on a 
horizontal line) of the bursting point 
of 3/1000 of the distance. This is 
done by turning a hand wheel which 
the master gunner ( aimer or pointeur 
in French) has under his control. 
We fired 4 shots per gun at a new 
range of 2675 metres and for 10 min- 
utes worked in the same manner, by 
leaps of 25 metres (from 2650 to 
2700 metres). Now if you realise 
that each gun was firing at the rate of 
20 shots a minute you may imagine 
what our Battery of 4 guns did. 
After the first volley of 4 shots 
the Germai;is stopped firing. We 

56 



couldn't investigate ourselves what 
had been the effect of our fire, but 
from what we heard afterward, the 
12 German guns had been badly 
damaged. This has been our firing 
baptism, and I am proud of it. The 
men were mad with joy and immense 
confidence spreads over us, so true it 
is that the first step has a decisive 
action on the future. My captain 
told me that his observatory point 
was less than 800 yards from the 
German guns, on top of a tree. It 
is needless to say that after this the 
soldiers had for supper a double ra- 
tion of wine and brandy. 

There's another wonderful action 
I want to tell you about that took 
place on the twenty-fifth of August, 
an action which made us capture 17 
(77 millimetre) German guns, which 
57 



are now at Belfort, and destroy 
7 more, a total of 24 guns. Three 
Batteries of our Regiment were 
waiting in a firing position about 8 
A. M. when the Major saw 4 German 
Batteries (6 guns per Battery) of 
77 Millimetre guns taking their fir- 
ing position at about 3000 yards from 
us. They must have been crazy, as 
they were in a bad position in open 
land, just protected from sight by a 
small curtain of apple trees. 

Only just were they in Battery 
that we started shelling them, only 
one volley, and stopped. The Ger- 
mans fled with the teams of horses 
leaving the guns. Our Major then 
did something exceedingly clever. 
He guessed that by stopping firing 
the Germans would believe that they 
had been shelled by mistake and that 

58 



certainly they would return during 
the day to get their guns. So we took 
the exact distance from our Batteries 
to the guns, and sent one officer up 
a tree to observe and 'phone us if any- 
thing should happen. We waited 
the whole day in a nervous state that 
was growing from hour to hour. At 
5 p. M. the 'phone rang and the '' Ob- 
servator " advised us that a few Ger- 
mans appeared on a hill inspecting 
the neighbourhood. They didn't find 
anything suspicious and went back. 
Quarter of an hour later the teams 
appeared with horses to haul back 
the guns. We waited until every- 
thing was ready on their side for leav- 
ing, and the " Observator " 'phoned 
us. "Explosive shells by 4 mow, 
3150 metres." We fired like Hell! 
3150, 3175, 3200, 3150, etc., for five 

59 



minutes. The rate of firing was tre- 
mendous as all the explosive shells 
were prepared and ready. I went 
myself after the shelling to investi- 
gate the result of our firing. My 
dear old friend, I never saw such a 
sight; the only thing alive was a 
horse, over 300 Germans were 
crushed to pieces and beyond recog- 
nition. I found legs, arms, etc., cov- 
ering the spot. The Commander 
had his head in two parts cut off over 
the eyebrows. Seven guns were de- 
stroyed;, 17 damaged but could be 
hauled. We blew up the ammuni- 
tion wagons and brought the 17 guns 
to our quarters, and they are now at 
Belfort for Public exhibition. 

Yours, 

C 



60 



Nous dorinoil^, ci^apr^, le-, t€^k d'^Uttfi^ 
^citation dent a et6 Tobjet l© liieUienaai 

l§ri§ Joiurd)©, frapp6 ^ mort ietvant Ver: 
dun- i , . 

uAM iiomm^ dans Toirdine do la Le- 
gion d'honn&ur au grade de ob^ivalier, 

« Engag6 volontaire pour la dur6e de 
1^ {yue-Hr^ ,ati ffoiit a%>uis MoWnibr^ 1^4, 
e'est fait remarquer .par son courage 
trajiquille et son bJdsoIu m^pris du dan- 
dier, touijours a la recherche des missions 
ctang^reuseis .et de nouveaux postes d'ob* 
eervation pour d^couivrir les objiectils en 
Jiemia A 6te blesse gtifevetoent te> 10 avril 
1916 6.n gbuteiriant line attacjuie sous ilii 
VI6I4nl bombardement. » 

(La pr6sente .nomination ciompiorte I'at^ 
Iribution de la Croix de guierre aviea 
toalme,) 

Sign'6 : XOFFRE. 

Le lieutenant fiiiwifaiirntoi^ giui s'6tait 
d'6j4 slgnale par son sang-groid ^t son 
courago, dans mainteis occasions, regut la 
Croix d'^honneur la veille du jour ou il 
fat rn'oo-tcllemeoat blefise-, pr^s dlas pitos 
die sa battetie. * 

II laisse une venve et deoix eniTants. 8a 
fermne, dapms le debut de la guea-re, n'a 
oess6 die donner ses soins les plus devo(U6s" 
aux blesses de no6 formations. Elle compte 
parmi le persomiel f6minin du Sacr^- 
Cosur, dont on no saurait assez faira 
I'^loge. Sa soeur dirige, avek; la ddrvoxie- 
ment le plus eclair^, I'hdpital de Lescar. 

Nous ar^i:e-ssons a cett^ famille, qui 
compte encore cinq de ses membi^i? &ur 
le front, I'hommage de nos^cand'Ol^ance^. 
Uq plus.&ympathiQiues. 



MBRARY OF CONGRESS ^^^H 

illHIIHll*! 
020 930 251 2'" 




